Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Hyundai India's car sales up 14.7 per cent

The Indian unit of Hyundai Motor Co said on Monday that its car sales grew 14.7 per cent in the year to March over last year and forecast they would grow a further 16.4 per cent in the year ahead.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd said in a statement its sales in 2000/01 (April-March) grew to 86,798 cars compared to 75,648 cars in the year ago.

India's overall car sales in the first 11 months of the financial year to March 2001 has fallen 7.1 per cent to 525,540 units, compared to the year-ago period

Hyundai, which has grown into India's second largest car company, said its sales jumped 19 per cent in March to 10,008 cars compared to 8,412 in the same month last year.

It sold 6,830 cars in February and 9,066 cars in January.

"We expect sales of about 101,000 cars in 2001/02 -- 78,000 Santros, 21,000 Accents and 2,000 Sonatas," BVR Subbu, director marketing at Hyundai India, said.

Sales in 2000/01 include 64,876 of its premium small car, Santro, 16,085 of its mid-size Accent model and exports of 5,837 units.

The company statement said its revenues during the year increased 29 per cent to Rs 30.4 billion from the same period last year. "You should see the same kind of growth in the bottomline as well," Subbu said.

Hyundai reported net profit of Rs 593.4 million in 1999/00.

Subbu said the company could also float an initial public offering of shares in the next 12 months to fund its $400 million expansion plan to increase capacity to 200,000 cars from 120,000 now.

Hyundai India, which launched its first car, the Santro, in October 1998, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the South Korean company and makes cars at its plant near Madras in south India.

Subbu said the company expects to launch the Sonata luxury car which it will begin manufacturing in India by July.

He said the company would also begin studying the possibility to import a sports utility vehicle, a multi-purpose vehicle and a sports car into India after the announcement of a liberal trade policy last week.

India lifted quantitative restrictions on trade on over 700 items including passenger cars last week. Manufacturers are now free to import and sell cars after paying a duty of 85.33 per cent.

Tell us what you think of this report